Page 146 - ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES

Andersen’s Fairy Tales

above, and they were quite bright and shining from the
Aurora Borealis. The flakes ran along the ground, and the
nearer they came the larger they grew. Gerda well
remembered how large and strange the snow-flakes

appeared when she once saw them through a magnifying-
glass; but now they were large and terrific in another
manner—they were all alive. They were the outposts of
the Snow Queen. They had the most wondrous shapes;
some looked like large ugly porcupines; others like snakes
knotted together, with their heads sticking out; and others,
again, like small fat bears, with the hair standing on end:
all were of dazzling whiteness—all were living snow-
flakes.
Little Gerda repeat~d the Lord’s Prayer. The cold was
so intense that she could see her own breath, which came
like smoke out of her mouth. It grew thicker and thicker,
and took the form of little angels, that grew more and
more when they touched the earth. All had helms on their
heads, and lances and shields in their hands; they increased
in numbers; and when Gerda had finished the Lord’s
Prayer, she was surrounded by a whole legion. They thrust
at the horrid snow-flakes with their spears, so that they
flew into a thousand pieces; and little Gerda walked on
bravely and in security. The angels patted her hands and

145 of 260